American Idol (season 1)
The first season of American Idol premiered on May 3, 2016 and continued until August 10, 2016. It was won by Grant Rowe. The winner, Grant Rowe, signed with RCA Records. Three contestants from this season were signed to record labels. The signed artists were Ocean Winchester, Mike Fowler & Cheyanne Bunker. Regional auditions Hollywood week The Hollywood rounds of the audition process were held over four days in at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The first round consisted of each contestant singing one song a capella of their own choosing in front of the judges and all the other contestants of the same gender. Contestants were then told whether they were moving on or going home, in groups of six. This extended over the first two days, first females, then males. The second round took place on the second and third day, and consisted of groups of three or four contestants choosing, rehearsing, and then performing one of nine pre-selected songs. Groups were reviewed and contestants were then judged individually as to whether they were moving on or going home. The third round took place on the fourth day, and consisted of individual contestants performing a song from a pre-selected list, accompanied by a piano and backup singers. Contestants were again informed of whether they had made the cut or not.After further deliberation by the judges, 24 semi-finalists, 12 women and 12 men, were then selected. At Pasadena Civic Center, each contestant took the elevator from their holding room to the floor above, and in a walk that would later be dubbed the "green mile", to see the judges who would then reveal their fate to them. Semi-finalists The following is a list of the Top 24 contestants who were eliminated: Top 24 Finalists The 10 finalists were announced on June 8, 2016. As in past years, the top 10 will appear on the annual compilation album while the top 10 will be the participants in the American Idol summer concert tour. Also as in past years, one finalist was eliminated every week until the final two, where one will be declared the winner. The following is first in reverse chronological order by elimination date, then in alphabetical order by family name, where applicable. *Grant Rowe (born December 24, 1998) is a -year-old (17 at the time of the show) and auditioned in Providence and is from . He auditioned in Providence with "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" by The Script. She performed "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith in Hollywood. On August 10, 2016, he was declared the winner. He was signed to RCA Records and released album called Final Hour. *Cheyanne Bunker (born December 4, 1999) is a -year-old (16 at the time of the show) and auditioned in Charlotte and is from Spartanburg, South Carolina. She auditioned in Charlotte with "Still Into You" by Paramore. She performed "Alone" by Heart in Hollywood. She was saved from elimination by the judges after receiving the lowest number of votes in the top six round. Bunker was the runner-up. She was signed to RCA Records after the show and released her debut album Salt and sugar. *Aniyah Bass (born June 30, 2001) is a -year-old (15 at the time of the show) and auditioned in Charlotte and is from Lenexa, Kansas. She auditioned in Charlotte with "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" by Aretha Franklin). She performed "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men in Hollywood. She was eliminated on August 3, coming in third-place *Eve Thompson (born June 30, 1999) is a -year-old (15 at the time of the show) and auditioned in Providence and is from Coventry, Rhode Island. She auditioned in Providence with "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" by Shania Twain. She performed "Talk About Our Love" by Brandy Norwood in Hollywood. She was eliminated on July 27, coming in fourth-place *Linda Poter (born June 18, 2000) is a -year-old (16 at the time of the show) and auditioned in Kansas City and is from Urbandale, Iowa. She auditioned in Kansas City with "Love Me like You Do" by Ellie Goulding. She performed "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5 in Hollywood. She finished sixth place on July 20 in a double elimination, due to judges' save being used the previous week. *Mike Fowler (born March 11, 1993) is a -year-old (23 at the time of the show) and auditioned in Los Angeles and is from Leonardtown, Maryland. He auditioned in Los Angles with "People Loving People" by Garth Brooks. He performed "Independence Day" by (Martina McBride) in Hollywood. He was eliminated as joint sixth-place finishers together with Linda Porter on July 20. He was signed to RCA Nashville. *Sarang Sharma (born Feburay 2, 1997) is a -year-old (19 at the time of the show) and auditioned in Phoenix and is from Eugene, Oregon. He auditioned in Phoenix with "This Love " by Maroon 5 . He performed "This Love " by Maroon 5 in Hollywood. Sharma was eliminated on July 6, coming in seventh-place. *Ryan Stringer (born November 3, 1990) is a -year-old (25 at the time of the show) and auditioned in Chicago and is from New York City, New York. He auditioned in Chicago with "Speed of Sound " by Coldplay. He performed "Fix You " by Coldplay in Hollywood. Stringer was eliminated on June 29, coming in eighth-place. *Billie Hayden (born August 4, 2000) is a -year-old (15 at the time of the show) and auditioned in Los Angeles and is from American Fork, Utah. She auditioned in Los Angeles with "What Hurts the Most " by Rascal Flatts. She performed "You Win My Love " by Shania Twain in Hollywood. Hayden was eliminated on June 22, coming in ninth-place. *Ocean Winchester (born August 19, 1997) is a -year-old (18 at the time of the show) and auditioned in Charlotte and is from Berlin, New Hampshire. He auditioned in Charlotte with "All of Me" by John Legend. He performed "Flying Without Wings" by Ruben Studdard in Hollywood. Winchester was eliminated on June 15, coming in tenth-place. He was signed to Columbia Records. Finals 'Top 10 – Prince' 'Top 9 – 2000s' 'Top 8 – R&B/Soul' Mentor: Boyz II Men 'Top 7 – Back to the Start' The finalists reprised the songs they performed when they first auditioned 'Top 6 (first week) – Divas' Mentor: Mariah Carey 'Top 6 (second week) – Billboard Hot 100 hits' 'Top 4 – Taylor Swift/Katy Perry ' Mentor: Taylor Swift & Katy Perry 'Top 3 – Contestant's choice & Judges' choice ' 'Finale– Contestant Choice, Previous Song, Winning Song' Elimination Chart Results night performances Group song * Top 12 Males: "Let It Go" by James Bay. * Top 12 Female: "Who Knew" by Pink * Top 10: "Kiss" by Prince. * Top 9: "Survivor" by Destiny Child. * Top 8: A medley of songs by Boyz II Men, including "End of the Road" ,""I'll Make Love to You", and "A Song for Mama"." * Top 6: "Vision of Love" by Maraih Carey. * Top 6: "Treat You Better" by Shawn Mendes. * Top 4: A medley of songs by Tyler Swift & Katy Perry, including "Rise","Unconditionally" ,"Shake It Off" and "Bad Blood". Other performances Guest artists may perform songs to promote their work or the show itself, or for charitable purpose. Included is a list of those songs with the impact of performance on the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Digital Songs chart for the week. Episode list